Douger and I debate the derivation of the name Kings of Leon…
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From: Van
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 2:21 PM
To: Douger
Subject: RE: KOL
Maybe if we tinted our lenses it would be really hip or if they had tattoos on them or wallet chains. Kids love that shit.
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From: Douger
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:16 AM
To: Van
Subject: RE: KOL
If we ever start a band, we are totally incorporating Pince-Nez in some fashion. Teddy Roosevelt on the cover if nothing else.
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From: Van
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 4:46 PM
To: Douger
Subject: RE: KOL
Or the PInce-Nez of Leon? And they would all wear the eyeglasses unsupported by ear pieces and pinching the bridge of the nose. But then a manager probably came along and pointed out that the hyphen in the name is going to cause confusion and PInce Nez of Leon, looks like something should be pluralized. And then questions would arise whether in fact their father actually wore those glasses.
Granted, Teddy Roosevelt looked great in them, but I mean you can see the confusion brought on by this.
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From: Douger
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 4:41 PM
To: Van
Subject: RE: KOL
Maybe they were originally Princes of Leon.
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From: Van
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 4:37 PM
To: Douger
Subject: RE: KOL
So they claim to be “Kings” of Leon to emasculate their father? Like he should bow down to them? How very odd.
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From: Douger
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 4:34 PM
To: Van
Subject: KOL
Three brothers and a cousin (lead guitarist). The brothers were sons of a pentecostal minister named Leon.
My back has been feeling pretty good lately. And I even stacked a load of firewood last night before heading to Mom’s for dinner.
This weekend, I felt pretty terrible for canceling an appointment with a web design client. I hate this for a lot of reasons: the client is a genuinely nice person, by canceling, I treated the client like I was doing them a favor, and that’s so freaking obstinate of me, and lastly I failed in one of the Four Agreements (Be Impeccable with Your Word). I have work to do on this thing I’ve been working on I like to call ‘me’.
I noticed a friend of mine on Twitter had gone into protected mode. I asked said friend why, and they explained that someone has been cyberbullying/stalking them. Why the fuck someone would waste the time and energy to make someone’s online or real life miserable is just flat out sad. Life is waaaay to short to expend energy on petty shit like this, do something strong for yourself if you feel you’ve been wronged. All you do is make yourself a victim and give that person a power over you.
Movie Reviews…
Run Fatboy Run -Simon Pegg is quickly becoming my favorite comedic actor and this film is probably my least favorite of his films that I’ve seen, but still very funny and Thandie Newton, his love interest, is breathtaking.
No Man’s Land -this movie about three soldiers injured and stuck between lines during the Bosnian War is freaking brilliant. This isn’t necessarily what I would categorize as a war movie, but moreso something that makes you think. The complicated interplay between the Bosniaks, Serbs, UN officers, and news reporters really complements the action and confusion towards resolution. By the way (I didn’t know this either), this is the film that beat out Amélie for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001.
Cross of Iron - I definitely would call this one a war movie. Like Das Boot and Letters from Iwo Jima it’s always interesting to me to watch a film told from an opposition’s point of view. One thing I really like about this film is that not every German is protrayed as a typical Nazi fascist idealogue bad guys. Even Schell, is not a party man, his motives are purely professional self-actualization, not derived from a sense of duty.
Iron Man -Iron Man is my favorite comic book hero, so I was trying to suppress my boyish enthusiasm as much as possible when I picked this up from the library. I was mildly disappointed, but hear me out. Robert Downey Jr. is great as Tony Stark, but his smarminess overflows a bit at times. The problem I had with the film is it gets so mired in the backstory. I would assume that’s so they can pave the way for some sequels?
The Incredible Hulk - like Iron Man, you will notice in these films that CGI effects have come a long way in relatively short time. This re-do of the horrible Eric Bana Hulk of 2003 is much better (well it was easy to improve on crap). Ed Norton is good, but I really find Hollywood actors completely unbelievable as geeky scientists.
On the way home from Kings of Leon, I decreed the Kings of Leon Commandment… “Thou Shalt Not Spend $36 on a Ticket for a Concert that does not have a headliner’s worth of material”. Don’t get me wrong, KoL sounded kick ass on their new material, and they are a tight band, no doubt. The issue is they just don’t have enough material written in their own wheelhouse and they also don’t extend or explore any of their current repertoire.
KoL tracks that center around a groove is their strongest stuff (see Sex on Fire, Closer, On Call, Crawl, etc.), but when the song is a straight-ahead rocker, it’s passable at best. When you hear or see this band live, there are two things instantly jump out at you - great singer and a really decent drummer. I also like some of the bass players more melodical parts that sometimes become the song-centered groove. I understand it’s important for bands to headline shows even when they are young, but for that kind of money, I don’t see how middling bands that are about to get huge can sustain themselves. Give Kings of Leon another album or two, then the $30 ticket will be well worth it.
I’m 37, but there are some days I still need my mommy. My back really was angry yesterday. I canceled my guitar lesson with Carolyn and got home and planted myself on the couch. Mom came over at 6 with dinner and wine. She did the dishes, gave me a smooch and headed home. I’m such a lucky son.
After Mom left, I watched a great Flyers-Pens game, that my boys in orange and black just couldn’t win pull out the win in an OT shoot-out. One of my buddies at work, Alex happens to be a Pens fan and I knew he couldn’t wait to rub in the victory, which he did in the email below…
Hey,
I’ll be the first to admit that it was a close damn game last night and unfortunately I missed most of it, but who takes a run at the goalie during a shoot-out? What a scum.
Pulled directly from pens blog
And although I don’t agree with the statement entirely, it is still funny as hell
And my response…
Did you check out Sid the Kid’s victory dance he did in the locker room for the rest of the Pens last night?
Here it is… (if you can’t see the video below… click here)
I know you’re pretty sore after moving that TV the other day, but the firewood carrier is empty. After work today, we’re going to have to fill it up. I know we canceled the appointment with the chiropractor after I drove home instead of to his office. I promise after the guitar lesson tonight, we will simply lay down on the couch and watch movies. No chores, no hunched over the laptop coding until the wee hours of the night, no laundry folding (although there is a load in the dryer), no nothing - just rest. So tough it out for about 5 wheelbarrow fulls of firewood and we’re golden.
Love,
Van
Dear Toilet at Work,
I can not apologize enough for what I did to you this morning. It was totally uncalled for and although I sprayed the Glade Refreshing Spa, it’s hardly refreshing in that bathroom and certainly very un-spa-like.
My back has been feeling pretty good lately. And I even stacked a load of firewood last night before heading to Mom’s for dinner.
